Pinoy Basketball Legend Tribute - Charlie Badion

During the 50's, when basketball was very much tougher and rougher than it is today, there was one cager who was. most feared, not only because he was known as the "Bad boy of Philippine basketball," but more for the fact that he was unquestionably one of the most. unstoppable pointmakers in the history. of local cagedom-Charlie "Boom Boom" Badion. Born August 16, 1935 in Tondo, Manila, Badion, who mastered that almost uncontrollable "bicycle drive," first saw action for the Jose Abad Santos High School In the Manila Interscholastic Athletic Association league. He twice made it to the NCAA selection before get ting into bigtime basketball with the Jacinto Rubber Barons in the MICAA Nobody thought he could deliver here, being a first-timer in such a big league. But he proved everyone wrong by emerging as the highest individual scorer after the qualifying round. He pumped in 244 points in 8 games to post an average of 18. His excellent play shoved him into the MICAA selection. Impressed by his scintillating performances, Mapua Tech coach Valerio "Amang" Lopez acquired Badion. for the Cardinals In the NCAA. 

The move paid off for MIT as it figured well in the senior division, at one time, even clashing with La Salle in the championships. Badion awed NCAA fanatics with his fearless penetrations in the lane and flashy maneuvers which earned for him the league's rookie of the year award. in only his first year, he erased the NCAA's sixyear old Individual record of 34 points held by Ateneo's Luis "Moro" Lorenzo when he tallied 39, Badion became the team captain of the Cardinals the next season and was later crowned as the league's highest individual scorer. Badion, fresh from college, easily made it to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, then coached by now PBA Commissioner Leo Prieto., and together with San Beda's Loretto Carbonnell, formed the squad's 1-2 scoring machine. The team placed seventh after almost making it to the finals. Prieto then lamented that Filipinos were really at a disadvantage as far as contact rules were concerned in world basketball and that it was only the style of Badion which proved effective in the Olympics. Radion joined the After the Olympics, Badion joined the Crispa-Floro Redmanizers in the Businessman's Athletic Association (BAA). In 1957, Badion was acclaimed Mr. Basketball" by the Philippine Sportswriters Association, beating his closest rival, Loretto Carbonnel, by a 9-3 count. In 1958, he again easily made it to the national team for the Tokyo Asian Games. Badion's second chance to become an Olympian came in 1960, when the country retained the Asian Games crown. He played a vital role in this conquest and was later named skipper of the team enroute to the Romé Olympics where he was to play his last international game. With his stupendpus play in the Asian Games, he was unanimously voted as Asia's best player for 1960 by Asian Sportswriters. In Rome, he suffered a knee injury which signalled the drastic  end to the glorious basketball career of one of the very few great cagers local basketball has ever produced. He wanted to continue playing but he just couldn't, so he called it quits. He stopped playing, but never left the basketball totally. Today, he is out on an even more glorious stint as coach,